In the current information age, information technology (IT) tools are extensively used in enterprises and other organizations in order to facilitate processing of documents and data. IT administrators typically have the responsibilities of monitoring and managing IT devices, such as computers, printers, scanners, multi-function devices (MFDs) and other network-connected or standalone devices.
For example, in an enterprise environment, such as in a multi-national corporation, or another organization, including offices over wide geographical expanse, an administrator may need or desire to detect global or local trends in device usage or operation patterns in the IT environment administered by the administrator, as well as immediate developments that may be evident from the appropriate view or views of device data.
Device management tools (such as application software, etc.) are available to IT administrators to assist the administrators to track, monitor and otherwise manage the devices. For example, such tools commonly include a list view of the devices in the IT environment, displaying device information (e.g., device name, status, location, make, etc.) in a list format. An example of such list is illustrated in FIG. 1.
There is a drawback, however, in that the number of IT devices connected to a network is generally increasing and, as a result, an IT administrator is required to oversee a growing number of IT assets. Thus, it is sometimes difficult to grasp the overall status of the network environment and locate or anticipate the problems in the network environment from such list view.
There exists a need for an improved method of monitoring the condition of a network environment including a large number of information technology devices.